William Burr Howell

(1795-1863)

William Burr Howell, son of New Jersey governor Richard Howell, was the father of Varina Howell Davis. He married Margaret Kempe Howell in Natchez in 1823, and they had settled at The Briars by the end of the decade. For more information, see The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Volume 2, pages 124-25. (Painting from Randall,Â I, Varina; A Biography of the Girl Who Married Jefferson Davis and Became the First Lady of the South, p9.)